A photo taken by Bedeau.

Photo Courtesy of Khalif Bedeau

Capturing life’s greatest moments is one of the hardest challenges that anyone faces. However, Khalif Bedeau, a senior mass media studies major, has managed to successfully create a brand doing just that. “When I got back from my semester abroad, I was feeling a little bored, so my friend got me into photography as a way to just pass the time,” Bedeau said. “From there we just ended up shooting a bunch.” Bedeau tries to emulate his father in his photography. “My father is very headstrong. He always has ideas and he always tried to do something that is unique to himself.” Bedeau wants to embody those same qualities in his photography. When he first started taking pictures, Bedeau quickly realized that, “People don’t really care for the photographer’s ideas. They want what they want and that’s it. That’s the same with any service industry, not just photography.” Bedeau’s skills have allowed him to photograph bigger artists – such as Smino, a rapper – taking his portfolio to the next level. However, the photographer prefers to work with smaller artists. “When working with the big-name artists, I don’t get the chance to sit down for a one-on-one after. The smaller artists are cool because there’s something to talk about. I would take a picture of them and force myself to talk to them to get my name out.” Bedeau explained that with the smaller artists, he would make time to talk about the photographs with the artist or tag them on Instagram to start a conversation. “My friends go to the city a lot and they introduced me to this and experiencing different things. I went from just going to the city with them, to going to the city with them and bringing my camera along. I would meet different people and shoot consistently,” he said. Photographing concerts makes sense for Bedeau, as he says action shots are some of his favorites. “I love to look at the movement of photos and how someone moves through [them],” he explained. “I’ve also really been loving portraits. I like doing the one-on-one. I get to know the person a little better. It’s easier to understand them when there’s not a lot of people around.” When asked about his favorite aspect of photography, Bedeau did not hesitate to say editing. “I used to consider myself an editor. I didn’t necessarily get the aspect of angles for a while, but I felt like the editing aspect is what allowed me to expand my knowledge of photography.” Bedeau’s next step in photography is to begin taking his own ideas and implementing them into his own shoots. “I want to start pushing the boundaries of photography and start getting into … art.”